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The only tourist in Moldova

telegraph.co.uk

161–170 of 427 posts

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#161
post #110

This would fit maybe in 2019, but Moldova now has many foreigners. Hotel prices went up considerably! For "Europe's least visited country" try Belorus, Ukraine, Russia, Ossetia or Armenia. Traveling to Mariupol as a tourist is the real deal in 2024

> Traveling to Mariupol as a tourist is the real deal in 2024 except you'll be on occupied territory and will be breaking Ukrainian law, you might get a prison sentence if you ever go to Ukraine again

How would they ever know if you won't outright tell them yourself (like being a famous person an posting your itinerary on the instagram)? They'll see you've been to Russia, if you use the same passport for both visas, which may be frowned upon right now, but not illegal. But which Russian cities you've been to (and de-facto Mariupol is just that right now) — who the hell knows?

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#162

This would fit maybe in 2019, but Moldova now has many foreigners. Hotel prices went up considerably! For "Europe's least visited country" try Belorus, Ukraine, Russia, Ossetia or Armenia. Traveling to Mariupol as a tourist is the real deal in 2024

Every time I've been to Armenia there are many people visiting, although I think probably 80%+ are diaspora or descendants of diaspora folks edit to add -- not sure Ossetia is technically a country... the Georgians might quibble with you on that one

Went to a hotel lobby bar once and asked guys sitting to the left and to the right of me where are they from. Turns out both were Scots. Asked them what do they think about Scottish independence. One thing led to another and soon enough they started fist-fighting each other. Armenian cognac is great.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s mostly Asian men that are negatively stereotyped. Usually as being “weak” or “nerdy” or “feminine”. Non-Asian man + Asian woman couples have long been normalized. Asian man + non-Asian woman couples were/are comparatively extremely rare. That said, thanks to things like the tech industry (nerds are no longer automatically “ewww”) and the popularization of K-Pop boy bands, I’d say the image of Asian men in the We…

Coming from the states to Eastern Europe I was shocked at how many asian-man/white-woman pairings I saw in Budapest and Krakow. The asians are mostly Chinese playboy sons of mainland or impex business owners and often obnoxious as rich brats tend to be. Completely different vibe from my SoCal suburban violin-playing hapa friends who studied at UCs. When you say the West I think the stereotype only really applies to t…

my flagged comment (which i said would happen) was about the phenomenon of AMWF couples in eastern europe highlighting the structural conscious and subconscious racism towards Asians but especially Asian men in America confirms my point exactly.

edit: there seems to be someone who was upset by my original comment and is now just routinely going through all my comments and flagging them.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#165
post #126
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had to laugh at "this country is not safe" :D my country also advised that, but I've been there many times. It's about the safest country in Europe IMHO.

it's probably fairly safe until you are arrested and accused of being a spy in hope of bargaining for some sanction lifting deal with you country

[flagged]

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#166
post #110

This would fit maybe in 2019, but Moldova now has many foreigners. Hotel prices went up considerably! For "Europe's least visited country" try Belorus, Ukraine, Russia, Ossetia or Armenia. Traveling to Mariupol as a tourist is the real deal in 2024

> Traveling to Mariupol as a tourist is the real deal in 2024 except you'll be on occupied territory and will be breaking Ukrainian law, you might get a prison sentence if you ever go to Ukraine again

Is there really any chance they are going to hand out prison sentences to foreigners who have visited as a tourist?

But legallity, politics and bad taste aside, it just seems a dangerous place to visit. It wasn't long ago that an Ukrainian missile was shot down over Crimea which ended falling down on a beach in Sevastopol and killing 4 people.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#167
post #103

This would fit maybe in 2019, but Moldova now has many foreigners. Hotel prices went up considerably! For "Europe's least visited country" try Belorus, Ukraine, Russia, Ossetia or Armenia. Traveling to Mariupol as a tourist is the real deal in 2024

I have a Russian friend who is adamant that I would really enjoy and have a great time in Russia. IIRC he tells me to go to St Pete more than Moscow. But I cannot imagine doing that as an American. It kind of makes me wonder if he's messing with me but he hates Russia and Putin and I don't know why he would. I feel like I would be so unsafe. I'm a very "American" looking person and I only know a handful of Russian wo…

St Petersburg is beautiful and quite lovely. Or well, I don't know now, but it was before the war.

To be honest I've watched a ton of Russian YouTube content and on these videos the Russian cities doesn't seem affected. Just forget your visa/mastercard

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#168

This is a very nice take on the country. I visited a few years ago (took an overnight train from Romania which was a blast, albeit not the most restful experience) and I would just say that there isn't all that much to see or things going on. Not to say it isn't a nice enough place, it's just not one I'd ever recommend as a tourist destination for people. If you want more Eastern Europe vibes I think Romania is just…

Estonia’s old city is a treat to explore. Last time I was there was several years back during the winter and it was -30c or so out. Didn’t stop some drunk Brits from having a good time.

I had reindeer soup in the old city. It was awesome! Can recommend.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#169
post #92

"Sergiu exuberantly offers up shot glasses of mulberry vodka, pine-needle vodka, strawberry vodka, “medicine” vodka, “78 per cent proof” vodka" Although Moldova has vodka-drinking Slavs in it, the beverages described are not vodkas. Vodka is made of cereals or potatoes, whereas these are nicer-flavored, fruit-based distilled beverages that locals call "rakiu", in English it would be schnapps: https://en.wikipedia.org…

I’m guessing it’s actually răchie from pine cones, not needles. Either way, now I’m curious to try it.

Drinks made out of pine needles are pretty common. They have a very distinct nice taste.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#170
post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Traveling to Mariupol as a tourist is the real deal in 2024 except you'll be on occupied territory and will be breaking Ukrainian law, you might get a prison sentence if you ever go to Ukraine again

Is there really any chance they are going to hand out prison sentences to foreigners who have visited as a tourist? But legallity, politics and bad taste aside, it just seems a dangerous place to visit. It wasn't long ago that an Ukrainian missile was shot down over Crimea which ended falling down on a beach in Sevastopol and killing 4 people.

Nope. If they acknowledge you've been on 'occupied' territories, they will reject entry and prohibit it for 3-5 years.
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